Saturday, June 1, 2013

A few good Nurses

A few good Nurses I have found through the years that the largest part of this career is People opening up. When I say open up I mean whatever they feel, whether it is about family, pain, discomforts, the treatment they have received or the random thoughts crawling in their heads. These types of conversations most often are directed at you, normally in a high tone of voice. This sometimes presents itself, as crazed family members with shooting words of disorganized speech, feeling the need to be heard. This is your chance to shine control and discover all in one amazing flash of conduction…like a conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble. I have come to realize if you allow people to voice the anger within they come to the result that after all the drama, they return to a calm demeanor. The anger may be stem from a disability or developed disorder needing a new type of treatment. However you come to the conclusion the first attack is listening to their every word; if you find yourself condescending you might want to change that into earnestness. People can tell when you are burnt…Hope you can. This wonderful field of nursing is very much a calling; I know many who are truly compassionate and heartfelt. Those same people can redirect these heavy emotional feelings in other areas of their lives. I have for many years redirected pain from work to anger, laughter, giving, exercise and eating. These feelings Deep inside must go somewhere, we as nurses are a unique bunch. We recommend you cry on our shoulders, we work diligently to go through the seriously worked and reworked procedures and protocols, that the industries itself have developed by countless nurses demanding organized havoc. We are drilled along with our counter healthcare co-workers on how to work as a team. I will never forget the amazing blend of team work at Mesa View Hospital ER night shift, some excellent team members. Everyone knew the role they played. The amazing People at North Vista Hospital T3 T4 psych, we worked the drill and the patients were better off. Boulder city Hospital there I worked, long term care, ER, Medical surgical, and Humboldt County Hospital…ER, acute care and long term care. The staff was able to take the pain of a moment and redirect it to maintain an ease of function for thorough treatments of care. The ability to know your role in every type of event is the end and the consequence. People are never the same, although they might present with commonalities and the plan of treatment may follow a familiar path, the prognosis may not. That is why the ability to listen is the greatest talent to a nurse.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Talking to the Cat

Okay, the 1950's are over. It is fine to wear scrubs, No more white uniforms with funny nursing hats. No, I never worked as a nurse in those days, yet very much remember my mom dressed in the white. Mom always worried about her white nylons and if her hat was going to stay in place during her extra long shift. Mom worked at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital Now called University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, known locally as UMC. I recall my sister Jessie coming over the house after one of those forever shifts having yet another pot of coffee with mom talking over her night. If you want to know who made the coffee industries flourish... My mom and sister for sure. My Love for nursing came from the stories and the cool things Mom and Jess might talk about during their visits. See when you think the children are playing with dolls quietly behind the La-Z-Boy Recliner, they are listening to the grown up talk. Oh and the pic is from sears-fall-winter-1960-catalog-nurses-uniforms. Although I found nursing the most unique of jobs, my sister Jessie always told me, "You will never be out of a job my dear, people will always be sick" and This has been proven time in time again. Let me just say, this last major budget cuts through all federal employees...even the IRS was given furloughs (Employee furloughs are mandatory time off work with no pay) YES!! The Feds ha ha ha But not the VA nurses. We continue our full time hours, as promised to the Vets from the office of Eric K. Shinseki my Boss, and his Boss the President. In the Big Loss of jobs back in 2007-09 I carried two nursing jobs,in Mesquite and Las Vegas... taking in the MONEY. The wonderful person that felt a scrub will work just fine as a uniform... it was of course a nurse...and that nurse is my hero, she worked on the floor I'm sure...I don't know, but I bet. I wonder if it had something to do with the operating room, yet notice my 1958 pic taken in the OR at Syracuse, St. Joseph's Hospital Well till next time... we need to talk about My Wardrobe... It all starts with SCRUBS...